Brashares seems to falter a step when diverting from her Sisterhood series. While her other books are lively, engaging and filled with the most 'real' girls I have read in a long time, the characters in this novel were a mystery to me. Distant, unsympathetic and overall lacking emotional pull. The plot felt lackluster and poor conceived or thought-out. The final climax fell flat and unremarkable. I had expected much more from an author whose previous works I couldn't love more, or reread more often. Perhaps it was the subject matter, or perhaps I'm too tied to a more jovial-tone series of hers, but I can't help but wish I'd enjoyed this more.More of my reviews here: http://bibliophileanonymous.blogspot.com/